Financial advice

I think I'm posting about this more as a reminder to myself than anything else. As I am working out how much my GBP salary translates into buying power and equivalent quality of life (well, minus the California sunshine), I am also trying to decide how much and where to save (US funds? UK funds? UK real estate?) We all know the mantra that the more you save earlier on, the better off you will be. Here is just another illustration of that point from CNN Money:

"More than any one stock or mutual fund pick, the age you start investing will determine how much wealth you build. To illustrate: Employee A starts putting away $100 a month when she's 22. Her money grows at 8 percent a year, and after ten years she stops contributing - and lets her stake grow. Employee B waits until he's 32 to set aside $100 a month, also growing at 8 percent a year, and he keeps it up until he hits 64. When they both retire at 64, she will have $234,600, and he'll have only $177,400. Need we say more?"

It's sobering to do the math, and this example of just $100 is obviously not sufficient for true retirement savings, but just multiply that by 5 or even 10. And I've noticed a general attitude in the UK amongst my peers that retirement isn't something to be worried about yet. I don't know whether they are seriously relying on their pension, or that the culture of saving here just isn't as strong (probably both), but it really is incredible to see the benefits of saving young. And hey, if I can have the luxury of decreasing my savings during times of my life where the money is needed in other areas (raising kids, supporting a spouse in school, helping out family members, who knows?), that is enough to push me to save a larger percentage now.

[Lecture over - and remind me to reread this after I go on my shopping spree in the States at Christmas]